Idiom
by DragonDancer5150
Summary: One of these days, Thundercracker really will learn to be more mindful when it comes to Skywarp and his bouts of idle curiosity. Bonus: alternate spelling of the title ends in a "T"... G1 cartoon continuity. COMPLETE


Author's Notes – Written for the Dreamwidth comm "Musing Way" – Prompt – Week 186: _Higher than a kite_. Also . . . man, just...what? Heh. The Seekers of the Command Trine are deadly warriors . . . but half the time I can't seem to write them "seriously". XD Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer – "Transformers" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Hasbro, Takara, and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Idiom"  
by DragonDancer5150

"Hey, TC?"

Thundercracker stifled a groan. When Skywarp came bouncing in from somewhere, uttering those words in that tone of voice, it usually meant he was thinking about getting himself into trouble . . . and Thundercracker with him if he could help it. Okay, to be fair, that wasn't wholly accurate. But when Skywarp was "just curious" about something, it usually meant he'd gotten some glitched idea in his head. Which led to the same end result.

"TC, do you know what the humans mean when they say someone's higher than a kite?"

"Wait, when they're what?"

"Higher. Than. A kite." The teleporter repeated the phrase with extra-precise pronunciation.

Thundercracker waved an irritated hand his wingmate. "I _heard _you. I mean . . . why are you asking? Where'd this come from?"

Skywarp shrugged. "The Combaticons're hoggin' the vid screen again, an' they're watchin' some human slag, an' one of the characters said that. But that doesn't make any sense! Kites don't go hardly very high at all. Do they? An' not like the squishies can even fly at all."

Thundercracker shook his head, turning back to the datapad he'd been reading. "No clue, Warp. Why don't you go find yourself a kite sometime and try it for yourself?"

Skywarp hesitated, then shrugged and wandered back off again, and Thundercracker figured the matter was closed.

Silly him.

About a week later, the pair was on patrol duty when Skywarp suddenly broke formation, veering away from his position just off Thundercracker's left wing. "Hey, TC, hold up! I'll be right back."

"Warp! What are you-"

Skywarp transformed to root-mode, pulled a little utility knife from subspace, and vanished with a _VOP_!

"-doing..." Thundercracker sighed and started scanning for his wingmate.

Below him was some kind of open nature arena humans built themselves for congregation. No, wait, he knew the word . . . what was it again? Oh, "park". Several dozen of the little squishy organics were gathered on the perfectly-groomed expanse of grass - eating, laughing, chasing balls or each other around, some were flying-

Oh.

The realization hit him just as Skywarp reappeared, dropping down on a knee next to a group of immature fleshlings huddled around one who gripped the spool of a kite between her hands. Ignoring the panicking organics, Warp cut the rope of the kite, then teleported back out, rejoining Thundercracker high above the ground, his attention downward.

Since F-15 Eagles didn't exactly have hover capability, Thundercracker transformed to root-mode as well so he could "stand" in place like Skywarp was doing, balanced on his firing heel-thrusters. "Skywarp, what the _frag _was that for?"

Skywarp's optics were still tracking the piece of stretched fabric, which floundered, sailed sideways, and spiraled back to the ground amid sharp cries of dismay from the younglings before their parents grabbed them to flee. Unperturbed by the chaos he'd created, the teleporter just shrugged. "I wanted ta see how high it'd go. Couldn't get too high if it stayed on its leash so I let it go. Tch . . . guess they don't go too high after all, huh, TC?"

Thundercracker facepalmed . . . and then _winced _at the sudden voice over his comm.

"What. Are you two. _Doing_?"

"Oh, hey, Starscream. Nothin'. Just testin' a theory. It was TC's idea."

Thundercracker sputtered. "It-!" Had been, actually. In a sense. Fraggit. "-wasn't . . . intentional. Not like that."

Starscream, who had been relegated to bridge duty for whatever latest affront to Megatron instead of being allowed to fly with his trinemates, huffed in irritation. "Yes, well, your foray into scientific experimentation has hardly gone unnoticed. You're right over the recreational sector of an Air Force installation. And now you have incoming."

"My what into science?"

"_Just get your afterburners back to base, _both _of you! NOW!_"_  
_  
Flinching, the two transformed back to alt-mode, swung around mid-air, and returned in haste to the Victory. Not for the first time – nor the last, he knew with long-suffering annoyance – Thundercracker made a mental note to _fragging_ _shoot_ his wingmate after they'd checked in.


End file.
